Pastor Bo: Grow Your Garden Wisely

Wagner's garden is a labor of love that has grown over many years. I've been gardening since I was a kid, mostly things like tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Back then, my soil was a mixture of very fine black earth, horse manure and furnace ash. In fact, this mix produces particularly wonderful tomatoes.

When Dana and I got married, we rented a farmer and planted a small garden in the backyard of our rental house. Then about a year later when we bought our first little house in the country I decided for some reason I needed a tractor to prepare the land. I spent a thousand dollars on an Allis-Chalmers tractor for about 20 by 30 yards in 1949. As you can imagine, it wasn't exactly a good choice; An ordinary farmer would make the job cheaper and easier, and my dear wife would give her the unspoken "I told you so."

Eight years ago we finally bought a big house for our family. And we turn back to gardening. In the first year we planted a piece of land behind the house and fenced it off with a small garden fence. It didn't go well; Our sad dog Riley just jumps over the fence and runs around the trees. The next year we planted a small garden with a tall hedge on the same spot, which did very well. But the next year, when we added an automatic watering system, things really took off.

So after a few years we expanded the side garden by a large area. We mainly grow things like grapes, watermelons and melons, although we also have okra and peppers there. And it got horrible. Summer is my busiest time hosting week long youth camps as well as revivals, family reunions and other gatherings. This also gave me ample opportunity for weeding, leaving me hours of digging and dumping to tame the unattractive undergrowth when I returned, let alone salvaging any produce.

And that's what led her to this year's no-nonsense garden plan (she writes with a wry smile). With the same roomy side area, we've redesigned everything for maximum comfort and appeal. I lined up 24 by 24 landscape boards, fastened them together and nailed them to the ground with reinforcements. We put some plastic in there and four loads of beautiful river rocks to walk on. Then we list the best plant boxes and more, as well as outdoor sinks. We already have some very good lettuce growing in pots; When he goes to play we plant summer plants.

(Also read: Beautiful Gardens for Beautiful New Weather)

It took a lot of time and effort in the beginning, but now we hope to have a year-round garden with just a few minutes of watering most days. But all of this begs the question: why spend so much money and time, especially time, that groceries can now be bought in 12 minutes?

As a pastor/evangelist/teacher/writer etc. there is hardly a week that I don't work 70+ hours. And I like to devote that extra time to our garden, not because it saves us a lot of money, although ultimately it's comparable to food, but because of all the whims that make life really enjoyable. I love tomato sandwiches, especially when I can get fresh tomatoes from the garden. I love local chili with everything. I even love pickles in my salads and sandwiches. I also love loading bags and baskets with produce and taking them to church and giving to loved ones and those in need.

I love the sense of achievement of planting seeds in a small pot, planting them in the garden and seeing the results when they are finally harvested. And the peace and tranquility that gardening brings cannot be compared to anything else. In our garden, beautiful flowers grow in the same place as vegetables. And the cute little bees seem to love everything. Soon we want to set up wind chimes and water tanks there

Psalm 90:10 says: “The days of our days are sixty years and ten [seventy] years; And if they endure eighty [80] years because of their strength, their strength is labor and pain; 'Cause in time we'll fly away Verse 12 continues, "Therefore, teach us to count our days, that we may set our hearts on wisdom." In other words, "Learn how fleeting life is, and learn to enjoy each moment wisely."

It's easy to ruin a life. First, we can leave it largely to meaningless things like television, social media, and video games, leaving our minds neutral and our bodies broken. On the other hand, we're too late to burn out on anything other than work and realize that there are too many people and things on the go.

In the midst of so much work, we did our best to focus on God, family, home, and friends. Just like our garden, we notice that you are satisfied with the fruit you are actively growing. We are very close to our children; We rejoice in our journey with the Lord; We like to come into our garden, into the house and onto the terrace every afternoon. And we meet up with dear friends, but we don't have to.

(Also read: Jesus is a friend of life)

I can't imagine ending my life without gardening, worship, family and friends.

Bo Wagner is pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Mooresboro, North Carolina, a widely traveled evangelist and author of several books available on Amazon and wordofhismouth.com. Email him at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.